Cebu City’s session hall to be modernized

March 6th, 2008

The newly-refurbished session hall of the new legislative building will soon become as modern as the public anticipates it to be.

Former councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, who is now consultant on budget and finance and international and local government relations, yesterday disclosed the plans to modernize the session hall and the session itself.

Cebu City's session hall to be modernized
Cebu City Hall | photo by mrfpoonin28 (Flickr)

Pesquera said that as long as the council can allocate the budget, cameras and flat screen monitors will be put up inside the session hall so that a councilor speaking can be projected onscreen for those in the gallery to easily know who has taken floor.

Pesquera explained that with the present setup it is somewhat difficult for spectators to follow who is speaking as the councilors practically have their backs on the audience.

She said that these future developments in the session hall are in line with the previous council’s initiative to improve and implement a legislative tracking system to make more accessible to the public the status of the ordinances passed in the council.

Pesquera also said the legislative library will soon be operational with the arrival of the furniture next week. She said that through the library, actions by the council would be made more accessible to the public, especially with the codification of the city’s ordinances.

The library is located immediately outside the session hall at the fourth floor of the new legislative building.

Moreover, employees working for the council would also be required to undergo further training to make their work more efficient, especially the stenographers.

The legislative library is among the added facilities of newly- renovated legislative building. The building was supposed to be inaugurated last February 25 but landscaping works on the front grounds caused the postponement of the inauguration.

Vice Mayor Michael Rama said they hope to have the landscaping completed by the middle of this year, especially the construction of a new drainage system that would address perennial flooding in the area during heavy rains.

Rama disclosed that there has never been a real drainage system in the city hall grounds since the old building was constructed in 1948.

With the building newly renovated, Rama said proper drainage is important so that floodwaters will not destroy the plants and other materials that constitute the P15 million landscaping. Five million pesos from the financial assistance from the Philippine Tourism Authority is being used for the drainage project.

In 2002, the council conceived the renovation of the old city hall and sought the help of the University of San Carlos for the planning and design. Considered a landmark, the old city hall, now called the new legislative building, remains to be Cebu City’s most symbolic seat of power.
Article source: The Freeman